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The Efficacy of Digital Media Resources in Improving Children’s Ability to Use Informational Text: An Evaluation of Molly of Denali From PBS KIDS

2022; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 59; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3102/00028312221113326

1935-1011

Joy Kennedy, Claire Christensen, Tiffany Salone Maxon, Sarah Gerard, Elisa B. Garcia, Janna F. Kook, Naomi Hupert, Phil Vahey, Shelley Pasnik,

Reading and Literacy Development

Informational text—resources whose purpose is to inform—is essential to daily life and fundamental to literacy. Unfortunately, young children typically have limited exposure to informational text. Two 9-week randomized controlled trials with 263 first-grade children from low-income communities examined whether free educational videos and digital games supported children’s ability to use informational text to answer real-world questions. Participants received Internet-enabled tablets and were randomly assigned to condition. Study 1 found significant positive intervention impacts on child outcomes; Study 2 replicated these findings. Combined analyses demonstrated primary impact on children’s ability to identify and use structural and graphical features of informational text. Results are discussed in the context of the scalability of educational media to support informational text learning.